


End Game

by 30xf



Series: 201 Days Of X Files [41]
Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-05-01 00:20:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5185133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30xf/pseuds/30xf





	End Game

I wake again later, the daylight from the window replaced by the dull glow of a light above me. Scully is still at my beside. She is hunched over in her chair, her head on the edge of the bed. Her hair tickles my bicep, but not so much I feel the need to move. Not sure I'd have the strength to anyways.

I don't want to wake her, as I'm sure she needs the rest, but when I simply move my leg a little, her head raises slowly. "Morning, sunshine," I croak out, the first syllable not even audible.

She rubs her eyes, frowning in a way that tells me she probably has a headache or a stiff neck. Or both. "It's not morning. And I am far from sunshine. How are you feeling?" She leans back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest.

After taking a moment to mentally take stock of my entire system, I sigh, "Tired." Scully nods. "How long was I asleep?"

She shrugs and yawns. "A few hours probably. It's only nine," she says after a quick check of her watch.

"You should go to your motel; get some proper sleep."

"Don't have a motel. Been here the whole time." I nod. "They're pretty nice here though. They've been letting me sleep in a bed down the hall."

"And yet you're still in that chair," I observe, allowing a small smile. In truth, I wouldn't expect her to be anywhere else. And if the situation were reversed, I'd be in exactly the same spot.

"Yeah, well...that bed isn't much more comfortable than this chair," she says through another yawn.

"Fair enough," I agree. With considerable effort, I start to sit up. Scully's face looks slightly panicked, but she stands and helps me, adjusting the bed to help me raise my upper half. Once that's up, I turn to her, swinging my legs off the bed just as she moves the covers off of me. Thankfully my hospital gown stays down to my thighs. I hadn't considered that until the covers were gone. 

"Where are you going?" she finally asks, a hand lightly on my shoulder to keep me in place.

"Nowhere...I just wanted to sit up," I tell her. My head is spinning a little, so I lower it and close my eyes. Scully stays in front of me, standing in between my knees. I assume this is a good spot for her to be in should I decide to get up or anything. But I've probably got at least sixty or seventy pounds on her, and if momentum takes me towards the floor, she's likely coming with me.

She takes her hand back, but isn't quite sure what to do with her arms. She rests her hands on her hips and looks not at my face, but somewhere mid-chest. "I'm sorry about what happened to you on this case," she says finally.

I will her eyes to meet mine, but they have drifted to either my rib cage, or my arm. I try a joke. "Being frozen preserves you, doesn't it? Maybe they did me a favour."

Scully doesn't laugh. Her long eyelashes almost rest on her cheeks. Her full lips purse just a little as she considers what to say next. Not a drop of makeup is on her face, and yet she couldn't be more beautiful if she tried. "I meant about your sister," she clarifies, though I knew that already. 

She finally looks up at me, her bright blue eyes a little watery. I hold her gaze for only a moment before I have to look away. I focus on her shoulder, where there is soft blue material that looks like a good place to rest my head. "Nothing's changed...she's still gone."

Even though my voice was already hoarse, she can of course tell the moment I get emotional. She takes a step closer, her hips cradled by my inner thighs, and takes me in her arms. "It's not fair...what they put you through."

I let my forehead rest on her shoulder, keeping my hands planted on the edge of the bed to support most of my weight. After a moment, I turn my face into her neck and she runs a hand through my hair. She smells too nice for having sat around a military hospital for what has probably been days. For no discernible reason, I am tempted to inhale deeply, to learn every nuance of her scent. Thankfully, she pulls away. She fixes my hair and places both hands on my shoulders. I just look at her.

"You should probably lie back down. If your doctor finds you sitting up you're gonna get in trouble," she warns me. 

"You're a doctor, you said it was fine," I smile. 

"I said nothing of the sort," she reminds me. Stepping to the side of my legs and placing a hand on my knee, she tries guiding my leg back into bed, but I resist.

"I want to try walking around a bit, Scully." I don't feel strong, but I feel like I need to get strong as soon as possible. Already my voice is getting clearer.

Understanding my need, she doesn't argue with me. "Okay, but I'm getting help for that," she says as she reaches behind me and presses the call button for a nurse. "You've got a catheter to worry about, in case you haven't noticed, and that's not in my job description."

I hadn't noticed actually, but now that she has pointed it out, I suddenly feel very vulnerable. I consider a joke, reminding her that in her job as a doctor, dealing with catheters is technically in the description, but I decide against it. It probably wouldn't come out right anyways, seeing as how I'm not in the best frame of mind. It was only a moment ago I almost deeply inhaled with my face in her neck, for god's sake. I mean, what would I have followed that with? Certainly not a joke about her dealing with my penis. 

Just as Scully is likely starting to wonder why I've suddenly gotten quiet, a nurse thankfully appears. As she helps me lie back down, Scully excuses herself. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she assures me.

"You don't want to miss seeing me walking," I assure her. "It'll probably be like Bambi on the ice."

She flashes me a smile from the door, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."


End file.
